This Vanilla Malt Snack Cake with Chocolate Frosting comes from Yossy Arefi's brand new book, snacking cakes. The cake is a super simple, super moist, one bowl vanilla snack cake, with malt powder added for extra flavour. It is finished off with a fluffy chocolate frosting and sprinkles for good measure.
Hi hi! Happy Tuesday! I just wanted to pop in and share this recipe for a One-bowl Vanilla Malt Snack Cake with Fluffy Chocolate Frosting. It comes from my friend Yossy's brand new book! It is the most beautiful book and would make the BEST holiday gift - you can order it here!
What is a Snacking Cake?
I'm going to be honest - I had no idea what a 'snacking cake' or snack cake was until I moved to the States. I immediately became obsessed with them as soon as I found out they existed. A snacking cake is a small, single layer cake, usually finished with either a simple glaze or frosting. Snacking cakes are less involved than something like a layer cake, but is perfect for a small gathering or even just when you want a little bit of cake.
All of the cakes in Yossy's book can be made with just a bowl and an electric hand mixer. All the recipes are made in an 8" square or 9" round pan. Each recipe has a load of different options in terms of ways to finish each cake, or different flavour variations to mix it up. Yossy has 50 recipes in the book (they all look amazing), but with all the flavour options and suggestions, the possibilities are endless.
What is Malt Powder?
According to this Spruce Eats article, malt powder is a mixture of evaporated milk powder, Barley, and wheat flour. It's the taste we associate with Malteasers and malted milkshakes. The "malt" name actually comes from the process that the barley goes from.
Malted Milk Powder was initially made as a supplement for babies to help with their digestion. It also lends an amazing flavour to baked goods. Malted milk powder keeps super well, so you can just grab a jar and have it on hand for adding into things. I popped it in this cream pie once and it was so good!
Yossy suggests adding it to the vanilla buttermilk cake in her book, and oh boy, it was amazing. The cake is super easy to make and comes together in one bowl. The frosting is also super easy, so you can pop this together in no time.
Frequently Asked Questions for Vanilla Malt Cake
What if I don't have Malt Powder?
Leave it out! This will still be a super delicious Vanilla Buttermilk Cake.
Can I make this cake into cupcakes?
You sure can! Yossy mentions in the book that to make these into cupcakes, you can fill lined cupcake cases halfway with batter, then bake for 12 to 18 minutes.
Can I use a round pan?
To make this into a round pan, bake in a 9" round pan until puffed and golden, and a skewer inserted into the center comes out clean, 30 to 40 minutes.
Can I make this as a sheet cake?
To make as a sheet, double the ingredients and bake in a 9" x 13" pan until golden and puffed and a skewer inserted into the middle of the cake comes out clean, 30 to 40 minutes. Double frosting ingredients too.
A few wee tips for Vanilla Malt Cake
- Try to make sure your ingredients are room temp - bring the buttermilk and egg out of the fridge to come to room temperature before you start. If you forget you can always pop the egg in some warm water, and zap the buttermilk in the microwave just to take the edge off of it.
- This is where you want to crack out your good vanilla! We all know that I love love love Heilala Vanilla and use their paste in almost everything I make. CLOUDY20 will get you a wee discount on their site!
- My frosting so it wasn't as fluffy as it could be because I put a teeny bit too much milk in. Start with 1 tablespoon and go from there!
Like this? See more snack cake recipes:
❤️ Made this recipe and love it? ❤️
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Answers to your baking questions
Over the years, many of you have asked me questions about:
- baking in grams
- adjusting oven temperatures
- what kind of salt to use
- and many more!
I've curated and answered them all for your easy reference in this frequently asked questions post!
Vanilla Malt Snack Cake
- Prep Time: 25 minutes
- Cook Time: 40 minutes
- Total Time: 1 hour 10 minutes plus cooling time
- Yield: one 8" snack cake 1x
- Category: Cake
- Cuisine: American
Description
This Vanilla Malt Snack Cake with Chocolate Frosting comes from my friend Yossy's brand new book, snacking cakes, which is out in the world today! The cake is a super simple, super moist, one bowl vanilla snack cake, with malt powder added for extra flavour. It is finished off with a fluffy chocolate frosting and sprinkles for good measure.
Ingredients
Vanilla Buttermilk Cake
- 150g granulated sugar
- 1 large egg, at room temperature
- 240g buttermilk, well shaken, at room temperature
- 55g unsalted butter, melted
- 50g neutral oil, such as canola or grapeseed
- 2 tsp vanilla bean paste or vanilla extract
- ½ tsp kosher salt
- 160g all-purpose flour
- 30g malted milk powder
- 1 tsp baking powder
- ½ tsp baking soda
Chocolate Frosting
- 85g unsalted butter, very soft
- 25g unsweetened Dutch process cocoa powder
- 100g powdered sugar
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- pinch of salt
- 1 to 2 tablespoon whole milk
Instructions
VANILLA BUTTERMILK CAKE
- Position a rack in the center of your oven and preheat the oven to 350°f / 180°c. Butter or coat an 8" square baking pan with nonstick spray. Line the pan with a strip of parchment paper that hangs over two of the edges.
- In a large bowl, whisk the sugar and egg until pale and foamy, about 1 minute. Add the buttermilk, butter, oil, vanilla, and salt. Whisk until smooth and emulsified.
- Add the flour, malted milk powder, baking powder, and baking soda and whisk until well combined and smooth.
- Pour the batter into the prepared pan, tap the pan gently on the counter to release any air bubbles, and smooth the top of the batter with an offset spatula.
- Bake the cake until puffed and golden, and a tester inserted into the centre comes out clean, 30 to 40 minutes. Set the pan on a rack to cool for about 15 minutes. Then use the parchment paper to lift the cake out of the pan and set it on a rack to cool completely.
CHOCOLATE FROSTING
- Add the butter to a large bowl and mix with an electric mixer on medium-high until smooth and creamy.
- Turn the mixer onto low, add the cocoa powder, and mix until smooth, scraping the bottom and sides of the bowl as necessary, then slowly add the powdered sugar.Mix until the sugar is moistened, then add the vanilla, a pinch of salt, and 1-2 tablespoon milk.
- Turn the mixer to medium high and whip until light and fluffy, adding more milk as necessary to make a smooth and fluffy frosting.
- Top the cooled cake with swoops of frosting and scatter with sprinkles.
- Store covered, at room temperature, or in the fridge for up to 3 days.
Notes
Recipe reprinted with permission from 'Snacking Cakes' by Yossy Arefi
Comments
Erin says
Hi there! I wrote about this in the FAQ section if you need 🙂 you can just leave it out!
Sarah says
This recipe was so easy to make, and so, so good! I loved the frosting!
Sarah says
Love this one - it is so easy!
Nik says
Terrific! Invest in a kitchen scale, friends! The recipe is great!
This is a perfect snacking cake reminiscent of your store bought cakes—but with way less cloying over-the-top sweetness! It’s just the right mix of nostalgia and homemade goodness.
Erin says
Thank you so much! Isn't it so good! I highly recommend getting yossy's book if you haven't already - it is full of bangers!
Joana says
This recipe is sooo good, and everything is in such detail!! ❤
Erin says
So happy you loved, thank you so much!
Vic says
I just made this delicious cake for the second time. So moist, so easy, massively good. Thanks for sharing, Erin.
This time was a single size, last time i doubled to feed a crowd, both times came out a trear. Will make again anytime I crave vanilla cake!
saffiya says
Hey, kinda a stupid question but I was just wondering is Malt Powder the same as Malted Milk Drink powder? That's all I can find in Australia.
If not I saw that you said you can skip that step would I need to add extra flour to make up for it?
Thank You!
Erin says
Hi! I don't think it's quite the same sorry but I'm not sure - I would have a quick google! If you don't have it you can just leave it out - no need to adjust the recipe 🙂
Kat says
best ever 18th birthday cake!
Thanks for your tiny recipes
Teresa says
Erin. This is SO yummy. I have made this now three times. Once as a regular snack cake without the malt (because who doesn’t want a cake in their daily life?), once as a 2 layer cake for my kiddos birthday, this time with the malt, and then we just had our third version, another layer cake for another of my kid’s birthdays, sans the malt because we preferred it that way. I doubled the recipe and used 8” rounds, then tripled the icing recipe. It’s moist and oh-so-scrumptious. My kids even eat every last crumb — and they usually stick to just the icing. My now 8 year old just said ‘thanks for making me such a yummy cake!’ So, I’m here to extend my thanks to you for making me look so good!!
Louise says
So so good!! Prepped this whilst cooking dinner and by the time we were done eating we had a cake for dessert! Just as amazing without the icing if you can’t wait!!😉
A big fan of using malt powder in baking and this will become a favourite for sure.
Nicky says
I used AP Einkorn flour 1:1 in place of the regular AP flour and was a little worried because the batter was really wet but I baked the cake for exactly 30 mins and it turned out soooo good!! Super moist and delicious, everyone raved about it!
Tim says
This cake turned out amazing! It was moist and delicious!
Mary Jo says
This recipe turned out great! Perfect dessert for a small family gathering!
Grace Tairua says
I made this cake today for my girl's 8th birthday; everyone loved it, saying it was so moist and the Choco icing was the best they've had, ganache like. It was so easy to make; I copied someone else in the comments and doubled the recipe, making a layer cake (2 8-inch). I didn't add the malt but will try next time. Highly recommend this cake; you can't get it wrong, and it is so delish!
Marie S says
Made this for a cookout last night and it was a huge hit! I didn’t have malted milk but the cake was still delicious. I do look forward to adding that in next time. And the chocolate frosting-WOAH. It was so smooth and fluffy! Super easy recipe and it turned out perfectly. Loved this cake!
Tini says
I doubled the recipe to make a layer cake. For the malted milk powder, I just used Horlicks powder and it worked like a charm. The cake is rather sweet (and I suspect that it's from the sugar that's already in the Horlicks powder) but not a big deal to me. Overall, a lovely and delicious cake! Thank you, Erin!
adela says
delicious recipe!! made this for my house warming party and was promptly asked to make it again for a friend’s upcoming birthday.
Faith Wilson says
I made this cake but it ended up baking like a sweet batter? It was very dense, and oily. Almost like there was too much fat and egg? I followed the recipe but also doubled it and cooked it in a rectangular dish. I wonder what went wrong?
The batter was still delicious!
Erin Clarkson says
Hi, it may not have baked properly?
Faith Wilson says
Thanks for responding and I think you may be right. My oven is slow and I was being impatient and took it out too early. Going to try again!